


Recessional

by elrical



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 16:17:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6291373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrical/pseuds/elrical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Are you asleep now?” </p><p>The silence catches Kakeru’s question and the breathing of those sleeping. After all the flurry from everybody of intoxication and final-trip banter, it had dwindled and quietened to the two talking, and a gradual end to it all with Kakeru’s question. Are you asleep now? </p><p>He tries to see through the thick dark, his eyes only adjusting to what the moon’s glow touches. The glow filters through the blinds and glazes the bottom half of Yuki’s face, and Kakeru sees only his askew mouth and strings of moon-tinged hair fall against the pillow. </p><p>For a moment, he wants to tell Yuki something. His mouth opens but the words are absent. Instead, the back of his head drops against his pillow and he stares into the black of the ceiling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recessional

**Author's Note:**

> One-shot inspired by Vienna Teng's 'Recessional'.

The after-trip haze droops over them – a bitter feeling, kind of like the beginning of a hangover. For some of them that's most likely the case - if, by pure luck or skill, they managed to sneak alcohol past the school’s suitcase check.

Kaibara High School's class and council presidents trudge from the station platform. All with their feeble attempts to push against the turnstiles, they are soon woken by the glare of the station lights’ fluorescence. One by one, they’re greeted by their karma of all-nighters and alcohol, apart from those with their leftover energy; savouring the last spark to the end of their school-trip. Sunset to sunrise memories. 

Somehow, Kakeru Manabe is not tired. This isn't surprising for the sole reason that he is Kakeru - the fist-pumping, wide-eyed and chatter-mouthed vice council president of Kaibara. The polar opposite to the student council president, Yuki Sohma, who’s now struggling through his delirious state. Kakeru tries not to laugh, but he doesn’t try much. Yuki is practically falling over, with his sways to the side, and slight bumps and slides between their arms; he’s almost mimicking the motions of being drunk. But, of course, Yuki maintained his decorum throughout the trip: no sips of alcohol, not even when Kakeru teased him with a "Won't our royal princess of Kaibara take a sip from her loyal servant's glass?!" Of course, this was all slurred through drunk lips, and instead rolled out like "Haff--have a drink, prince--no, prin _cess_ Yunyun! _Driiiiink!"_

Kakeru doesn’t quite remember the trip like that. 

"Not very ladylike to walk like that, is it? Did you have too much to drink?" Kakeru says, sliding his arm through Yuki's loose arm, yanking him closer. Yuki reacts in no particular way, he lets it happen. He almost doesn’t take notice of it. 

Yuki's used to Kakeru – more than he’d like to admit. 

“Shut it. I’m not drunk, unlike you.” Yuki retorts, though it’s not quite as snappy, his voice is just tired. Sleepy. He starts to lean his weight onto Kakeru – not realising this, of course. Kakeru wants to point this out, wants to singsong a tease of: “Would you rather me carry you to your carriage?” He doesn’t though, he’s quiet. He knows Yuki’s his worst when he’s tired.

* * *  
_  
Night before Departure_

_“Yunyun?”_

_“…Yeah?”_

_“You’re not asleep? Go to sleep!”_

_“What the hell? You’re also—”_

_“-A princess needs her beauty sleep!”_

_“You really want me to kill you.”_

_“Goodnight, Yunyun.”_

_“Bastard.”  
_

* * *

The students and teachers soon taper to the remaining few, scattered and disguised among the vagabonds and strangers of the train station. Kakeru and Yuki sit amid sleepy travellers, they’re both squeezed between those who were desperate for the best form of comfort found in a station: a cold metal bench.

“Man, they’re taking their time.” Kakeru mutters to himself, and his heavy eyes are locked onto the roman-numeral clock. The jutting gold frame of the clock harshly glints as it hits against the station lights, making it somehow stressful to look at. Kakeru stares through the glass doors instead, and the city outside is seemingly dead for a moment. No blur of a car zooming past, no passing-by of a pedestrian, no flicker of a streetlight… Nothing, just the rectangular stillness through the glass door. A poster. 

Kakeru sometimes finds more meaning in things at 4:23AM than he ever would during the day. Even if it’s something as trivial as what he sees from a bench in the station.

Next to a dozed Yuki, the other sleeping traveller beside him carelessly drops her bag onto Yuki. He jolts, panic-breathed, and gives the bag back onto the woman. She still sleeps, undisturbed and continues to dribble her dreams. 

“So, you awake now?” Kakeru quietly says, half-laughing.

“I thought she, uh-”

“Wanted a kiss?” He teases, and Yuki’s too tired to retort, but he gives Kakeru one of his worst ‘You-should-probably-shut-up’ stares. “So, now you’re awake, why don’t we talk – reminisce, think back to that time we watched porn?”

“So you’re loud when you say _that_ ,” Yuki groans, “let me correct that to when you – just you – did that.”

“Ah, but you were in the room, Yunyun. That’s basically watching it too.” 

“That’s not the same thing at all! And anyway, aren’t you sleepy? I could really-” he stops, a yawn interrupting, “-get some sleep while I’m waiting for Shigure to get here.” He says, but his eyes take notice of the woman next to him, and he subconsciously shifts closer to Kakeru. 

“If you’re going to be boring and sleep, I’m just gonna watch my-”

“-don’t say it here, idiot. If I wake up to see your phone screen on whatever sites you’ve got bookmarked…” His voice drops as he slouches back, with his eyes closed as he speaks. Kakeru isn’t sure if Yuki had just lapsed into sleep, but his head tiredly drops towards Kakeru, and his face presses against his shoulder, with his static hair reaching his chin. He stays there.  
Yuki’s hair trickles onto Kakeru’s shoulder, his mist-purple grey lines against the faded black denim of his jacket. He can hear and feel the gradual pace of Yuki’s slow, sleepy breathing, and Kakeru stays as still as the 4AM city. 

* * *  
_  
One Hour before Departure_

_“Are you asleep now?”_

_The silence catches Kakeru’s question and the breathing of those sleeping. After all the flurry from everybody of intoxication and final-trip banter, it had dwindled and quietened to the two talking, and a gradual end to it all with Kakeru’s question. Are you asleep now?_

_He tries to see through the thick dark, his eyes only adjusting to what the moon’s glow touches. The glow filters through the blinds and glazes the bottom half of Yuki’s face, and Kakeru sees only his askew mouth and strings of moon-tinged hair fall against the pillow._

_For a moment, he wants to tell Yuki something. His mouth opens but the words are absent. Instead, the back of his head drops against his pillow and he stares into the black of the ceiling._  
  
* * *

Kakeru closes his eyes, but he doesn’t sleep. He hasn’t moved, either. Yuki’s close enough for Kakeru to catch the scent of the musty accommodation room mixed with Yuki’s hair and last night’s conversation. 

He moves when Yuki’s phone rings. Yuki’s eyes lazily open, and half-turns to look at Kakeru. For a moment, the two stare at each other with no room between them. Yuki’s face is almost blurred given how close he is. Yuki doesn’t realise, or doesn’t understand the way that Kakeru is looking at him. Kakeru doesn’t quite understand himself, either. It lasts for a couple of seconds, and Yuki gets his phone out.

“Shigure?” 

Kakeru distracts himself by staring once again at the blinding-gold clock frame. He listens to Yuki and the crackly voice of Shigure on the other side, and Kakeru feels as if he’s waiting for something. 

“Oh, right. I’ll meet you there. You realise it’s around five now, right?”

Yuki puts away his phone, then pulls himself and his backpack up. “Well, it’s time for me to go. You still waiting for your ride, or I can ask Shigure…?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. They’re just coming now, actually.” He lies.

“Alright, good.” Yuki says, giving a tired smile at that. “I guess I’ll see you around.” 

“See ya, princess.” 

Yuki shrugs his backpack on, and is too distracted by what’s probably some kind of notification on his phone to look at Kakeru before leaving. Kakeru wonders if Yuki heard the princess slip out of his mouth, or if he simply had nothing more to say. If Kakeru wasn’t tired, or if he didn’t have the sudden feeling of 5AM poignancy, he would have perhaps thrown another tease. But he relents, and remains quiet on the bench. He watches Yuki walk towards the glass doors, stepping into the rectangular frame of the city poster. Kakeru watches Yuki stand there for a moment, and as he waits there, he’s as still as everything around him. 

Kakeru doesn’t know what he will say or do, but there’s a sudden urge to go up to Yuki.  
_  
Hell, I probably just need some sleep._


End file.
